Physicists seek to discover the secret of forces behind the dark matter that holds our universe together. That is exactly the plan guiding the massive particle acceleraotor built beneath the countries of France and Switzerland. Forunately, its purpose has now been revealed to us in the lingua franca of our times: a hip-hop video!

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things. It will revolutionise our understanding, from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe.

Thanks to Bernice Durand, professor emeritus of physics, University of Wisconsin. Her husband, Randy Durand, is working on the theoretical aspects of the physics involved. (We always knew that experience would pay off!) There was additional speculation that he was also involved in the dancing sequences of the video.